The purposes of the present investigation are (1) to construct cross-sectional growth percentiles of face and lower jaw for Turkish adolescents aged 12 to 17, (2) and to assess general characteristics official development. The sample was taken from an anthropometric study made between November 1989 and April 1990, which aimed at constructing optimal growth stadards for 12 to 17-year-old Turkish adolescents. In that study, 600 girls and 600 boys were measured by a team directed by the present author. Each sex and age group consisted of 100 subjects from seven selected cities, representing the seven geographical regions of Turkey. The subjects were derived from upper and mid-upper social classes since growth and maturation of children in developing countries raterded due to poor environmental factors. Percentiles for face dimensions (nasiongnathion and zygion-zyigon) minimum frontal breadth (frontotemporale-frontotemporale), and mandibular width (gonion-gonion) were calculated from Gaussian distributions. The non-Gaussian distributions were transformed to the Gaussian from by various mathematical functions. The growth curves revealed that facial dimensions and bigonial witdth increased consistently during the period investigated in males. It appears that facial growth for males continue phast age 17 years for all measurements. In females, all dimensions increase rapidly by 14 years; while face (nasion-gnathion and zygion-zygion) and bigonial measurements slightly developed through 15 and 16 years and then the growth was ceased, growth process for minimum frontal width complete at age 14 years.

Keywords: Facial growth, lower jaw growth, frontal growth, antropometry, Turkish adolescents